TAXATION—CARBON TAX—AUSTRALIAN CHARITIES

Senator Nash, pursuant to notice of motion not objected to as a formal motion, moved general business notice of motion no. 821—That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) Australian charities, including the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), face significantly higher electricity and other costs as a result of the Government's carbon tax,

(ii) the RSPCA faces up to $180 000 in increased costs because of the carbon tax and that the Chief Executive Officer of its Australian Capital Territory branch, Mr Linke, has stated that services to help animals could be cut, and

(iii) the Government's Low Carbon Communities program will be of no assistance to thousands of charitable organisations across the nation facing carbon tax-related cost increases; and

(b) condemns the Government for imposing major extra cost burdens on charitable organisations like the RSPCA, forcing them to cut services, including to save helpless and injured animals.